Filing for recognition is advisable this since there are property issues that will arise from not doing so.

If you plan to live or retire here, if you have children together, or if you have Philippine property, you really should get this done.

Further information detailing the cost, process and other important aspects is found here.

Void Marriages

Void marriages are marriages that are against the law or didn’t meet certain requirements before they were celebrated.

The court process to legal dissolve a void marriage is one for declaration of nullity.

So, what would make your marriage void?

First, your marriage is void when you haven’t complied with basic requirements:

One of you was under 18 at the time of the marriage;

You had no marriage license;

Your marriage was performed by someone not authorized to do so (unless you both believed in good faith that he was);

You are already married (unless one spouse was declared presumptively dead);

You married and were mistaken as to the identity of your spouse;

You married before the judgement declaring your previous marriage void was recorded in the Civil Register.

Second, a marriage is void when it smacks of incest – including those situations with adopted children.

Marriages are void when it is incestuous such as between brothers and sisters or between ascendants and descendants.

As adopted children are considered the family, marriages that involve them and their adopting family are also void. (Article 37 and Article 38 of the Philippine Family Code)

Finally, the most resorted to ground for declaration of nullity is the psychological incapacity of one or both of the spouses at the time of marriage.

Psychological incapacity can be a contentious ground which requires significant evidence to prove. It usually requires a psychological profile and report on both of the spouses, and a professional psychologist and other witnesses to testify to the psychology and history of either spouse.